Power-driven cultivator



Patented Mar. 30, 1926.

' UNITED STATES PATENT orifice.I

.TAMES A. MOULD, OE MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AssIGNoE To M. B. MQMANUEAOTUE- WING OO., OE MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

POWER-DRIVER' CUL'IIV'ATOIt.l

App1cation ledseptember 21, 1922. Serial No. 58.*),563.l

To a-ZZ whom it may concern:

' B eitknown that I, JAMES A. MOULD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county of'Milwaukee, and Statey vator having handles to be grasped by a person walking at the rear thereof and whichV can be properly guided and controlled by :L person in such position.

Small power units for two wheeled machines, have been used for various purposes, and attempts have heretoforeJ been made to applysuch units to hand guided cultivators,

but so far as I am aware, no such cultif vators have' gone into generalpuse `for the reason that the requirements for a successful cultivator have not been understood. Such requirements are quite different from those ner to avoid injury vto the plants. The cul-V tivating tools should be so disposed with reference to Vthe wheels as to .give the wheels maxlmum'm'echanical advantage 1n holding the'tools against:lateral thrusts when such.

tools act upon stones,lclods, or hard earth surfaces, thereby to render the guiding'of the machine comparatively simple. E

l The weight ofl the'machi'ne should be so nearly balanced upon the wheel supported axle and so disposed with reference tothe cultivating tools, as toi make it unnecessary.

for the operator to put any great amount of pressure upon the handle and to allow himv to give substantially his entire attention to the guidance of the cultivator.

'Ihe heat `generated by combustion in 4the i engine should be directed away-from the operator and such heat should beutilized to some extent to warm the fuel prior to its f introduction into fthe engine.

. In hand guided, power driven cultivators,

the use of air oooledengines are virtually essential in orderv toavod excess weight,

andthe air currents developedin cooling such engines should be caused to follow Aav course best suitedto prevent dust and dirtv from settling upon theengine and` power transmitting mechanism or fromgettingfintothe bearings. i'

l The power unit in its entirety .should be so organized that removal *of parts for the purposes of cleaningor repairing may 'be accomplished with facility. Furthermore, simplicity, strength, and durability of struc ture as well ascompactness vof design, are

of the utmost importance.

' It is therefore the object of thisinvent'ion` to provide a cultivator embodyingfeatures that will satisfy, tothe fullestk possibleex; tent, allof the above stated requirements and to provide at the same time a thoroughly reliable and' satisfactory". machine for'the described purposes'. ,l

An embodimentoftheinvention 1s shown in the accompanying drawings, in which z- Fig. l is 'a longitudinalsectional view of the cultivator.'

Fig. 2 'is a transverse sectional view, the section being taken on the line 2- -2 of Fig. l, vand the drivingwheels being shown in full. l A Y Fig. 3 is aschematic view of the control mechanism for the clutch.

The fcultivator comprises a `body portion formed of a main casing, indicated generally at 1, "which houses the drivingmechanism, clutch, and associatedparts. f

The axle-shaft 2 is preferably journaled in vthis casing and the driving wheels 3 are rigidly secured thereto. At'the rear upperV portion-of the maincasing the engine cyl-l inderVis mounted and is encircled lby la jacket 5 which is Vspaced amaterial'distancey from said cylinder, and forms an air passage leadingV downwardly along .the engine' cylinder and between the walls 7 which support. the fuel tank 8, to the fly wheelll, thejlatter beingpartially enclosed by the passage walls l0: 'and 10s. A deliector lwall 10b" depends froml the fuel tank 8 between the passage walls 7 and directs air downwardly toward the axis ofthe fly wheel and around the 075 reduced cylinder portion 9 of the main casing.y The ly wheel is provided with vanes or flangesflQ'which act as'fan' blades within'.

`the housingY l0` to'deliver'air outwardlyor centrifugal-ly from beneath the fuel tank as-l indicated bythe arrows in Figure 1,' the air being. thus dizawnby suntioni downwardly.

wardly in a manner to disturb loosepanticles Y. of earth and develop a dust cloud in ad-V ings19' are mountedqbetween thisv reduced` portion and; asulta-blyjbonedportion formedv "ein, a.r thickenedportiom 2 0. of. a transverse along the engine sunfaces to oool.tl1e --engine,

and also utilized along the under side of the l fuel tank to Warm the fuel therein. The functionro' thewall or wall'porti'on lOais to prevent the air from being-thrown downvance of the machine. r Thus, i1n additionr to the provision of a construction adapted to talefcooling; ainfrom ani altitudewherev itA will oridfnanily bev free of dust,A I alzar-)take precautions. to prevent dust froim being; stir-red upl by ain expelled Vfrom the; machine. Y

VWithinthe;V cylinder1` 4f the-pistonl 13; 'is mounted and is connected by meansof a .piti manv 14- \vth:f,tlie--cran-lepin. 1.5,. sueh crank pin;` beingi rigidly secured within! thecrank.V plate 16. T liecrank4 plate, 16* isseouizedbyY Ineansmofy a. taperL fitfuponzthe enginefshaft 17, such, crank.: plate being; provided with a reduced forward.. poizti onE -18. Roller beanweb providediinftlie mainicasing lhe for.- Walflfporton of. the engine 'shaft iszoarried upon rollen beariugl mounted: within the reduced cylinder,portion 9:01 the maimcas.- ing,l and it will be noted thatthetwofbear-i vise shapedto 'receive a detachable crank; andsuchportion is protected by means of' a sleeve 23 boltedl toithe 'forward face of f lthef'fly wheel 11.

f The drive mechanism'for operatively con--y nectingthe engine and axle shaft-comprises Va worm 24 Aformed. upon, or mounted upon,' thefengine shaftv 17AAA andf a. corresponding axle vshaft' 2j `This worm wheelis provided' withijaws or` clutch fac'es'26'which are adapt-V ed 'to cooperate with corresponding jaws 27 f formed." upon a clutch member` 28 loosely,

splinedfupon the Vaxlelshaft 2.

The control'inech'anism for the clutch oomv prises anarm 29 securedupon a rockshaftv y upper lendiwithga lpin 31', such pin riding;

30,; (see Figf) j andprovided 'at' its forward.

lo'jo' sely withinL a groove, 32 formed' inf ther clntclrmember 28. vThe rear: portionftlie.

shaft 30 is provided with aIi arm SSeX- rsa' tendingvsubstantially at right .angles to the arm 29; This armis connected by.rv means offa'linltwithone arm 35" of abellgcrank.,

levelgthe o tlllely arm 36'of which is connected by means; of an Velongated rodg. with" a: handifor finger controlflever 38`mountedwithin easy reachi ofthe operators hand.`

reduction gearingAO from-the engineshaft 17 and operates the valves 41 and 42 ofthe engine by means vofrods 43- and l ever s 44. l

A convenient` wayof"forming'tliis cam"4 shaft is toprovide' a relatively small rear bearing end., 45,.and. a i'elatively larger forward beau ing, end 46' so thatsuch shaft may be slippedv The clin Shaft 39 is-drlivemby means of I rearwardly into position. The shaft is thereafter retained in set Screw `47.

A ltV willpbe n oted-` that position by means of the the? cas-ing; for.` the engine and! driving' n'ieehanismv comprisesV essentially twomainportionsfone.otwlnch isa inf communica-tion; with the :shell or casing; aroundltheengine cylinder and! withftheV 1-hefV othen portion, of

fanflilie flywheel.:y the-casingis-oil tight andfcanriesthe driving mechanism. Means are provided forthrow v inge the oil-.upwardly against the@A rotating crank. plate-16 and suchmeans may comprise A; a roller 48 suitably. carrieduni the. lower por-- tionof the crank-oase andeinifiictional en,-

gagement with the cranksplate 16 as may rbe.l

seen from Fig. 1.

Then lo wer p ortion.. of the casing'lias downwardly .extending members. 49.tofwhich. are bolted plates 50providedwithright angle. Y

sii-r faces.- The lower p njtion,'5Lk ot'these plates,

each. carries al forwardly extendingarm 5.2i.

whichis secured-in adjusted positionby means of a bolt; 53.passing througlrarbottom binding washer` 54(an d suitablyfclainpngtheI member 521betweenv suclnwasher andthe por: y

tion, 51. The fora'vaildA portion of 'the bars 52 carry .the cultivator, blades 55. which may.E be secured 1n any adjusted'angulanposition.

with respect tof-tlie bars 52`. in.- a manner similar to. that justdescribed fertile` rear portion ofl sucli bars.

It, is desirable to have:

the: magneto 5 6;

outs-idel of' thegmain-casing and this mountinggis' secured-bythe novel arrangement; de- A scribed herewith. The magneto 56 is mount-L ed upon a; slielf57 externally ofv the-main casingand liaslitsshaftiiS `i`n aliz'fjmment' witlilj the engine shaft"A 17.VJ The fendi'of the shaft} carries-a relatively light crankfarm 591fvvhioh f engages thecrankgr in anysuitable.

mannen, as for example', jbyfengaginga relai' tively small; projectingportionv ofi suclil. pin

as fshown inl Figli The entire V"device isY guidedby meansi'ofE al pair of arms 60`fbolt'ed 'at their forward lower ends to projectionsnl extendingfrom the main framework or casing andprovided i at their rearends with gripslgor"*handlesf162.

It is particularly to' be` noted"'tlatftl1eVV 'cultivator'blade's or t tools? A5514 are "positioned y between the driving or", tractor wheelsV`V 37 .directly beneatlith'e power `unit 4and slightly to the rear of'the vertieal plane-:passing through the axis'offtlieaxle"shaft-2?" SnchA construction enablesithe: wheels ito resist "any Side thrust' or LV the cultivator that may be* loo caused by the cultivator blades coming into contact with stones or other hard materials. Furthermore, this construction provides a relatively great 'leverage for the operator over the blades Vand brings the tools sufliciently close to the steering axis of the machine as to obviate the probability of upiooting plants during ordinary turning movements required in following a row.

' The mounting of the engine proper directly above the cultivator vtools'positions the weight thereof in a mannei' to rendeiit of assistance to the operator in keeping the tools in the ground. f

From the foregoing description and drawings, it is therefore apparent that a.v hand guided power driven cultivator has been provided whicli embodies all of the requisite qualities for a successful machine.

I claim:

l. In a power driven, hand guided cultivator, the combination with an axle shaft having tractor wheels secured thereon, of an internal combustion engine having power transmitting mechanism for operating said axle shaft and clutch mechanism for putting said mechanism into or out of connection with the power shaft, a casing enclosing said power transmitting and clutch mechanism, a fly wheel for .said `engine positioned to the front of said'axle shaft, and a 'fuel tank supported from the casing above the axle shaft and fly wheel. v

2. In a powerV driven, hand guided cultivator, the combinationrwith an axle for the cultivator, of an engine supported fromthe axle and positioned to the rear-thereof, a flywheel for the engine supported from the axle and to the front thereof,and a'tool carrier adapted to support a' cultivating tool directly beneath the engine and rearwardly of the axle shaft. f

13.1In a power driven, hand guided culti- Vator, a pairof spaced tractorwheels, an engine supported therefrom at the rear thereof, a fly wheel for the engine lsupported from the wheels at the front thereof, .a fuel tank supported from the tractor wheels; said engine, fly wheel and .fuel tank being vsnp- 4. In a device of the character described,

a housing, an axle liournaled therein and projecting laterally thereof, wheels carried vby said axle, algear concentric with said axle, a crankshaft in direct driving connection with said gear, an engine cylinder and a pislton operatively connected with said crank shaft upon one side of said axle and a fly wheel upon the other sidek of said axle, whereby said device is substantially balanced against rotation about said axle from its normal operative position;

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a pair of wheels and an axle, of a housing provided with bearings for said axle, a crank shaft disposed insaid 'housing transversely of saidL axle, said housing being provided with bearings forv said crank shaft upon opposite sides of said axle, intermeshing gears concentric respectively with said crank shaft andsaid axle, an vengine cylinder supported from said housing adjacent one of said crank shaft bearings and a flywheel mounted upon said crank shaft adjacent the other of said crank shaft bearings, said housing being substantially balanced against rotation about said axle froiirits normal operating position.

JAMES A.' MoULn. 

